Manly Sea Eagles v Sydney Roosters re-igniting a 70s classic

The last time the Roosters and the Sea Eagles met in the top grade grand final Billy McMahon was prime minister and a loaf of bread cost just 25 cents.

Manly ventured to the Sydney Cricket Ground chasing its first New South Wales Rugby League title while foundation club Eastern Suburbs already boasted nine premierships.

The Sea Eagles had been building for a genuine premiership tilt for some time.

After going down to the powerful South Sydney side in the 1970 decider, Manly strengthened its ranks with big-spending club boss Ken Arthurson determined to build a premiership winning side.

Manly's poaching of three top South Sydney forwards, Great Britain international Malcolm Reilly and North Sydney speedster Ken Irvine earned it the Silvertails tag that was stayed with them following continued spending sprees in the 70s and 80s.

The Sea Eagles entered their sixth grand final in 1972 after 25 years in the competition.

Manly was favourite against a Roosters side that boasted Artie Beetson in the front row and hard-running centre Mark Harris.

With the steel of John O'Neill and Reilly up front and the brilliance of young backs Bob Fulton and Graham Eadie, Manly captured its first title, winning 19-14.

A golden era for the Sea Eagles

The 1972 premiership proved a breakthrough year for the Sea Eagles and the start of a golden run for Manly in the 1970s.

They backed up to defeat Cronulla in 1973, accounted for Parramatta in 1976 and again denied Cronulla in the 1978 grand final, which had to be replayed on a Tuesday afternoon after it initially ended in a draw.

The 70s also saw the re-emergence of the Roosters.

Their last grand final success had been in 1945. After losing to Manly the Roosters were back in the limelight winning the 1974 and 1975 titles over Canterbury and St George.

They again triumphed under coach Ricky Stuart in 2002 and are back again in 2013 chasing a 13th title.

Manly has proved to be one of the most successful clubs of the modern era. Adding to its success in the 1970s, the Sea Eagles also won the 1987, 1996, 2008 and 2011 titles.

Manly's clash against the Roosters will be its fourth grand final appearance in seven years.

Coach Geoff Toovey has the opportunity to achieve the rare honour of captaining (1996) and coaching a Manly premiership winning side.

The only other to achieve that feat was Sea Eagles legend Bob Fulton who skippered Manly to the premiership in 1976 and coached them to the title in 1987 and 1996.

Fulton played for and coached both the Roosters and the Sea Eagles but only tasted premiership glory with the Manly club.